We often discover a writer through a book cover. Sometimes, we discover one through the extraordinary circumstances in which they keep writing.

**Ali Abu Yasin**, the Palestinian playwright, actor and theatre director from Gaza, is such a writer.

On 8 October 2026, he was named **PEN Pinter Writer of Courage**, sharing the prize with British writer and critic Jacqueline Rose. The honour recognises an author who defends freedom of expression, often at serious personal risk.

But the award is only the latest chapter in a much longer story.

A Voice from Gaza

Abu Yasin grew up in Gaza’s al-Shati refugee camp. As a teenager, he began writing plays and learning the oud, the stringed instrument central to much Arabic music. Art became a way to express what he saw and felt around him.

Since the 1990s, his theatre has explored Palestinian life under occupation and war. His career has also encountered censorship, restrictions on performances and barriers to travelling abroad.

For a theatre-maker, these obstacles reach beyond the writing desk. A play needs actors, rehearsals, an audience and somewhere to gather. What happens when those possibilities disappear?

Helping Others Tell Their Stories

Through his work with Ashtar Theatre, Abu Yasin helped develop and directed the first **Gaza Monologues**, which have been translated and performed around the world. His work gave young people a space to express their experiences.

There is something especially powerful about the monologue: one person speaks, and we listen. Experiences that might otherwise become distant statistics acquire a voice, a rhythm and a human presence.

His play **The Cage**, performed in London in June 2026, takes another approach. It centres on a girl paralysed by a bomb who remains silent while becoming the subject of media attention. Her silence challenges the people speaking around—and about—her.

Why His Story Matters to Readers

For readers in Sri Lanka, where memories of war and displacement remain part of many families’ lives, this work may carry a particular resonance. The histories are different, but the question is familiar: who gets to tell the story of suffering, and who is actually heard?

Abu Yasin’s recognition invites us to widen our reading beyond familiar names and bestseller lists—to seek out plays, translated literature and voices that rarely reach our shelves.

He once staged Harold Pinter’s *One for the Road* in Palestine. Receiving an award bearing Pinter’s name, he offered a memorable explanation of why he writes:

**“Death is voiceless, but our voices never die.”**

At **Lanka Books Online**, we believe discovering a writer can open more than a new book. It can open a conversation with a life far from our own.

Ali Abu Yasin is a voice worth listening to.